Three types of people in B2B sales, who are you?

According to marketing guru Seth Godin, There are only three kinds of people in business to business sales:
The “Stallers” – These people make up the majority of the population and are “empowered to stall.” They’ll ask for so much more information that you’ll feel like you’ve been sent “after the broomstick of the wicked witch of the west.”
The “No” People – Those that have the ability to stall, but also possess the authority to hand you a big, fat “no.”
The “Yes” People – This group is the smallest of the bunch, but full of those with the power to say “yes” to your offer. They may participate in stall tactics, but just for the fun of it.

If you’ve ever been part of a business to business sales team, most of your experience comes from dealing with “stallers” and “no” people. It’s a great day when you get to deliver your pitch to one of the “yes” people, but it may only happen rarely.

“You have no chance (zero) of moving someone from one category to another. The reason this system evolved is straightforward: the yes people are rare in a typical organization, because they have responsibility and power. So they are busy and need to be protected. The no people are easy to train at saying no, and they’re waiting to be promoted to yes people. And the stallers? They represent the dip, the barrier salespeople have to get through to show that they are serious.”

Instead of trying in vain to move someone from one category to another, Seth says to get up and start playing offense if you want the best deal.

“The opportunity for marketers in search of media is not to play defense, to stall people with clever ideas or small platforms, but instead to stop stalling and start looking. The bargains are there, just waiting.”

It’s a great post that hope everyone had a chance to read, visit Seth’s blog for even more great advice.

So, who are you? “Staller,” a “no” person or a “yes” person? Leave a comment and let us know why.